Various biopsy devices exist in order to take a tissue sample of a suspicious lesion in the body. Most of these devices consist of pushing forward an inner part containing a notch followed by pushing forward an outer cylindrical knife to cut out the tissue bulged in the notch of the inner part. Although useful in several situations, in cases near critical structures or when small samples need to be taken this is a less preferred solution.
Another way of taking biopsies is by using a biopsy forceps. In order to employ the forceps an open space is required for instance taking a biopsy of a wall in a hollow organ such as the bladder, lung etc. In solid tissue however this concept cannot be used. Furthermore, by using a forceps the sample is torn off the tissue rather than well controlled cutting.
Another example of a biopsy device is a Spirotome biopsy device. It is based on turning a cutting helix into the lesion, followed by a cutting cannula. The helix is formed on a solid inner core in the form of a screw-thread on this inner core. As a result a relative small tissue sample can be taken compared to the total volume that is covered by the device.